[OPLINTECH] caching servers and erate

[Chad Neeper]

For the libraries I work with, almost all of them use a HTTP cache pretty
much by default. I've been doing that for maybe 15-ish years now. It's just
part of my normal network setup. In some form or other, it's always been
squid doing the heavy lifting....whether it was an IPCop firewall add-on or
a pfSense firewall extension or a stand-alone linux server. Squid's a
powerful well-known open source best-in-class cache engine. I don't buy any
extra hardware specifically for the cache and I don't use a commercial
product. Since I use virtual machines, I just allocate some extra RAM or
hard drive capacity to account for squid and it just boils down to a little
extra time it takes me to set it up.

I definitely agree about OPLIN's increase in bandwidth. The obvious
benefits of a cache for the individual libraries are less than they used to
be. But I have the cache set up to cover every device, whether it's
library-owned or a patron's wifi device. And I have it configured to serve
up Windows Updates, Apple updates, some big-brand name anti-virus updates,
and even linux tarballs, etc. So when patrons come in with their laptops
and do massive updates, those often get served up locally and the patrons'
favorite streaming videos don't go all laggy.

As you mentioned, one of the issues with caching is that unless you're
essentially going to do a man-in-the-middle attack, you can only cache http
and not https. With more and more websites switching to https (actually a
GOOD thing), less and less content can be cached. So that's a biggie...that
and the increasing amount of less cache-able dynamic content rather than
the more cache-able static content. (Regarding the MITM, I'm sure a company
can legally get away with it, but I definitely *wouldn't* suggest any
*libraries* do that! I can't imagine the lawsuit and negative publicity
that would follow once the public caught wind of it!)

2 cents.

Chad

______________________________
*Chad Neeper*
Senior Systems Engineer

*Level 9 Networks*
740-548-8070 (voice)
866-214-6607 (fax)

*Full IT/Computer consulting services -- Specialized in libraries and
schools*

On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 12:53 PM, Chip Kruthoffer <c.kruthoffer at lanepl.org>
wrote:

> Just curious if anyone is looking at, or already has in place, a caching
> server? These are now eligible for eRate.
>
> We used to cache years ago but encountered various annoying issues that
> soured me on it. Plus, OPLIN bumped our bandwidth so it became less
> attractive.
>
> BlueCoat <https://www.bluecoat.com/> was the last one we used. The
> product was fine, but there are issues inherent to caching in general.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Chip Kruthoffer, Systems Manager
> The Lane Libraries ~ http://www.lanepl.org
> 1396 University Blvd. (Admin. Center)
> Hamilton, Ohio 45011
> work: 513.785.2706
> mobile: 513.869.9770
> c.kruthoffer at lanepl.org
>
>
>
>
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